Brazil's SLC Agricola to buy 8,900 hectares in Cosan's Mato Grosso split deal (updated)

Cosan

09/07/2026 16:22

Recasts paragraph 1, adds Cosan filing, analysts comments, share move

    SAO PAULO, July 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian grain producer SLC Agricola SLCE3.SA will acquire 8,900 hectares (22,000 acres) of arable land in Mato Grosso, one of the country's leading agricultural states, for 669 million reais ($130 million), as part of a larger land portfolio transaction involving rival firms. 
SLC Agricola, which announced the agreement late on Wednesday, in June exercised its right of first refusal to acquire the portfolio known as "Bloco Mato Grosso", of approximately 41,200 ha, that belongs to conglomerate Cosan's CSAN3.SA Radar unit. However, other lessees also exercised matching rights over the assets.

        On Thursday, Cosan said it reached an 
        agreement 
        with purchasing lessees SLC Agricola, Bom Futuro, and Alexandre Bottan to split the Mato Grosso land portfolio.
      

        The terms remained unchanged at total value of 1.85 billion reais, Cosan said.
The SLC deal includes infrastructure such as silos and a cotton processing unit, it said.

        Analysts at J.P. Morgan said that as the revised transaction is significantly smaller than originally planned for SLC Agricola, it eases both leverage and funding pressures.
      

        The firm 
        already operated on 17,600 ha in the area under lease agreements. 
      

        Post-acquisition, 8,700 ha will remain leased, with varying terms through the 2029/30 season.
      
A first payment of 255.2 million reais is due upon execution, to be held in escrow, and the remainder  will be paid by October 30, 2026.

        SLC Agricola shares traded about 3% higher in early trading in Sao Paulo, among the top performers on Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index, which was up 0.6%. 
      

        Cosan shares rose around 1.6%. 
      
     
($1 = 5.1511 reais)

(Reporting by Isabel Teles; editing by Barbara Lewis and Andrei Khalip)
((isabel.teles@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 91033 3602))